He wants help in building infrastructure, maintaining facilities

Bangalore’s information technology (IT) companies may have put the city on the world map, but if Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana is to be believed, they have not contributed enough to the city.

“The IT sector has not contributed to Bangalore’s development. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) provides all infrastructure, including roads, but [IT companies] have not given [the city] anything,” he said here on Monday. He was speaking at an interaction organised by the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA).

The Mayor added that IT companies could not contribute to the city as nobody had, so far, approached them. “They can help us in building flyovers, pedestrian passes, skywalks or maintaining medians.”

The Mayor said he would approach about 250 IT and biotechnology companies, other industries, hotels and big colleges in the city to assist the civic body in maintaining parks, schools and playgrounds.

When his attention was drawn to an earlier initiative through Bangalore Agenda Task Force to improve civic facilities, he told presspersons: “Only Infosys Foundation helped build toilets then. This time, NGOs will not be involved, and officials and the elected body will monitor the adoption scheme, which will be launched in November-end.”

Funds crunch

Mr. Sathyanarayana defended the adoption scheme citing the financial crunch the BBMP was facing. “The civic body is saddled with debt of Rs. 3,700 crore. Payments have not been made to civil and horticulture contractors, and also for the midday meal scheme at BBMP-run schools. In fact, no contractor is coming forward to carry out development work,” he said.

The BBMP, he added, is dependent only on tax collection, and a large number of properties in the new Rajarajeshwarinagar, Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli zones are outside the property tax net. “A proper assessment in these areas alone would fetch us at least Rs. 1,000 crore.”

A good comment from Mayor. IT people do visit developed countries, I know a lot of people who take care not to litter on public roads. But I do find still some educated men feel it is their right to litter on road.

from:
Naresh B

Posted on: Nov 12, 2013 at 13:28 IST

OMG!!!
What will BBMP do if IT firms start building infrastructure??
Dissolve BBMP tomorrow and ask others to do your job!!
BBMP job is to build infrastructure using money paid by IT/BT or anyone for that matter and NOT JUST EAT PUBLIC MONEY....

from:
Rudresh

Posted on: Nov 12, 2013 at 12:36 IST

Bangalore is the city which generates the largest revenue for the state
government. If you have 60 percent of revenue generated from bangalore and you give 5 percent back to the city then how will the city develop? It cannot just develop from municipal taxes. The state government runs all its populist schemes from the money generated from bangalore which may be politically right but not economically.

from:
sudhir ravindran

Posted on: Nov 12, 2013 at 11:57 IST

The mayor is simply shirking his responsibilities and blaming somebody else. What roads and infrastructure he is talking about? I live in Indiranagar area and can assure him that not one inch of road is customer friendly - manhole cover is at a higher level than the roads, pavements are not laid properly and full of unevenness, most of the houses extend into the pavement area, vehicles are parked in that space, garbage heaps can be seen at all road junctions - one can go on and on. Does the mayor require money from IT people to attend to all this? There is an open sewer running for several kilometres emanating foul smell and posing threat to the health and health of people living nearby.

from:
svs iyer

Posted on: Nov 12, 2013 at 09:32 IST

Pity that Mayor expects do his job by IT companies? What for the companies shell out taxes? Is not it the responsibility of Government to provide proper Infrastructure ? If IT companies to lay foot paths, will government do the IT business ? There some sense of argument expected for these sort of comments.

If governments provide a sustainable Infrastructure certainly they can be in a position to demand a good return by way of taxes, which unfortunately not the case.